by Angela Timms
She led them around the outskirts of the village and up into the mountains. They followed a narrow track which was just about wide enough for the vehicle to cautiously make its way along. Below them they could see the vast coniferous forest that surrounded the village stretching out into the distance and the mountains on the other side of the valley rising to their snowc apped tips. The air was fresh, it was slightly chilly and the wispy clouds scooted across the turquoise sky.
Up and up they went following a well-worn track. Occasionally there was a flat stone, placed against the wall and carved with a symbol. Beneath them the village got smaller and smaller, the stream snaked into the distance and the trees became like toys.
Finally Maran stopped in front of an opening in the rock. It looked like it had been slashed by a knife and formed an upside down V shape. Around it there were carvings which were weather worn and obviously ancient depicting stick men fighting. Maran led the way inside allowing them mere moments to take in what they were looking at. They followed with the vehicle and Rennon stopped in his tracks as the cavern opened up. It was vast. In the middle there was an arena circled by a high slatted fence behind which seats rose like an amphitheater to the back wall. On the far side there was a raised platform made of piled stones. Along its ridge there was a line of chairs where the elders sat and beside it a platform. In the center of the ridge there stood a large chair made of wood, some driftwood, and some carved wood. The back of which was covered in a moss which seemed to glow in the darkness of the cavern.
The cavern was full of hundreds of people waiting expectantly as they rolled them. The the vehicle inside. The elders of the tribe stood facing two contestants stood facing each other in the center of the arena.
Maran walked into the center of the arena and raised her walking stick. “People, I have much to tell you and I will say it if it is the will of the elders.” She looked at the line of elders, dressed in fine embroidered silk robes. One by one they raised their ornamental stick and said “Aye” in agreement. “That is good.” Maran walked up the steps and took her place on a stone balcony beside the elders. “Now, we shall begin. As you know as oracle for this village I have the right to speak at these gatherings.” The candlelight was flickering and it cast shadows on her face making her look even older. “As you know the Chieftain cannot be here tonight to oversee the handover of her rule. As is our law she may appoint a voice to speak for her. By right of position I have taken on the right of speech. By virtue of my age I have waived my right to fight for her. We must adhere to Kyla’s wishes spoken through me. Step forward Andalon, come and take your rightful place on the throne.”
Andalon stepped up to the throne and stood in front of it. He was a tall and well- built man, about six foot two and muscular. His dark features were somewhat similar to Kel’s but he had a lighter bone structure. Immediately he was challenged by the other man, a sword was thrown to the ground, its tip dug deep into the impacted soil. “I challenge!” The challenger was a smaller man, his frame lighter and he had long light brown hair which was braided with feathers and animal skulls.
Maran raised her stick and all fell silent. “The Challenge has been issued. If fighting is necessary it shall be done by the creature who took our leader’s strength, who violated her and who put her in a state of near death.”
Rennon had made his way to the seat that had been set aside for him. He went to stand up when he heard her words but he felt a sharp blade against his spine. Maran’s bodyguard leant forward and whispered in his ear. “Move and you are a dead man.”
The room was in uproar. Warriors hurled loose masonry at the box, most hit, making it rock precariously.
The challenger looked stunned. “I challenged Andalon.”
“Your challenge to Andalon has been accepted by Kyla, the one who harmed her must fight in her place as punishment for his crimes. That is the law. Are you standing against me?”
“No Maran, I would not do that.”
“Good, then you will fight the beast. What honour would you have left if you refused to fight the one who violated your leader?”
Rennon relaxed. The bodyguard leaned forwards. “I trust you can see why.” The gates were closed so the Challenger and Kel were fenced in. Rennon pressed the button on his remote control device and the lock released. The door fell down to make a ramp.
Kel came out of that box like a wild thing and his weapons were released onto the floor. The Challenger was hit full force and flew backwards against the pit wall twenty feet away. Before he could get to his feet Kel was upon him, unleashing the frustration and all the pent up aggression running through his veins. The Challenger literally did not know what hit him, again and again. He was thrown about, punched, kicked and thrown off balance. But then he managed to roll clear, which gave him time to find his footing and the fight became much more evenly balanced. Kel was knocked back, rolled but he rolled onto his weapons, grabbed them and from punching the injuries escalated. The Challenger had managed to regain his and they both used their swords and daggers to good effect. An hour passed, and another, and another. Both men were tiring and the blows became less and less ferocious. The weight of the swords and tired limbs slowed them down but they still kept slashing and beating each other whenever they found an opening. It was a fight to the death and that was how it had to be. For the Challenger that was his goal, for Kel just the way things were with the drug in his system. But, his body was under less strain now that he could vent his feelings and actually put the adrenaline to good use. He was tiring far more slowly than his adversary.
Kel scored blow after blow on his opponent as he gained the advantage of adrenaline counteracting his exhaustion. The other fought with a ferocity that matched his but he was tiring. They were evenly matched when it came to skill. Blow after blow was dealt, blood was spilt and the sand ran red with it. Neither would stop and there was no chance of surrender or mercy.
Finally the Challenger made a mistake. He sidestepped into a punch and then slipped on one of the ever growing pools of blood on the floor. Kel saw his opportunity, caught the opponent’s head and neatly snapped his neck. He roared and dragged the corpse until it fell lifelessly to the floor. Rennon had his stunner ready and as Maran stood up and nodded to him he blasted Kel a few times. Kel fell to his knees, fell forwards into the dirt and lay still.
Maran raised her stick. “Now I proclaim Andalon leader of this tribe. Does anyone else challenge?”
There was silence.
“Good, well I would ask the Elders, is Andalon leader of this tribe?” One by one they stood up, raised their stick and shouted “Aye”.
“So for the second and final time I proclaim Andalon to be leader of this tribe.”
Andalon took his place on the throne and Maran placed a circlet on his head. He then stood up and everyone cheered. He raised his hand and the room fell silent. “People, I will do everything in my power to be a good leader to you as Kyla and others have been in the past. As my first act I would call for Kyla’s attacker to be brought to justice. This uncontrollable beast should pay for what he has done to one of our people by the Rite of Ast. I also call for the Aionarie. I would claim Kyla as my mate by ancient law and by all that I hold true.”
Maran looked stunned. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts before standing and raising her stick to silence the raised voices of the assembled host.
Maran’s assistant leant forwards and spoke into Rennon’s ear. “Aionarie hasn’t been declared in centuries. It is an oath bond which states that the woman is being asked for as an equal. That would have made Kyla co- leader of the tribe. We expected him to ask for her as his mate but not with that level of status.” Rennon was reaching for his blaster and his Marines were doing the same.
Maran spoke, slowly and clearly. “People, much as I would have dearly loved to have seen Kyla with such a worthy mate sadly it cannot be.”
Andalon looked thunderstruck and genuinely upset.
Maran gave h
im a moment for it to sink in then carried on. “For the sake of the tribe a great secret was kept from you for many years but it must be revealed now. Is it the will of the Elders?”
Again they stood up in order and shouted “Aye”.
Maran looked around the assembled people and waited until the murmurings and mutterings were silent. “Then I will speak my truth. It was before Kyla was born that her mother came to this planet by shuttle. It crash landed in the Kasakarin Mountains while I was on a retreat before I attained the Third Order. It had been badly damaged by the Antastari when she had left her home world. Kyla’s father was killed before they left Eldorian.”
Rennon gasped and looked at Dr Samson who raised an eyebrow.
Maran carried on. “He was part of the security force trying to keep the Followers from overrunning the planet. They were one of the last shuttles off of the planet, their guidance system was faulty and they ran into the Antastari when they neared our third moon. Her mother arrived here injured and despite my best efforts the injuries were too great, she died in childbirth and as all others on the ship were dead there was nobody to be mother to the child. Kyla’s given mother had just lost her baby that same day. Then as now I was midwife to the tribe. I went to the Elders and explained and asked that the child be given by the ancient rite of Brala. It was agreed that she should be given the baby as it was preferable to the child growing up without a mother and the mother grieving for her lost child. She never knew that Kyla was not her natural child so she spoke her truth all the days of her life. May she rest in peace with the spirits.
By our law that means that Andalon may not claim her as his mate as it is forbidden for a Chieftain to claim any mate who is not of the tribe. He also may not claim the blood of her attacker as she is not of our blood so no retribution is necessary. It is known to me that her attacker was under the influence of the Followers when he exacted such damage on her and violated her body by breaking her limbs. I would also ask of those who brought him here, where is he from?”
Rennon had not seen this coming. He was stunned when all eyes were upon him. He stood up and cleared his throat. “He who you see before you is not usually the ravening beast you saw tonight. He is a loyal and honorable friend who would sooner kill himself than harm an unarmed woman who was bound before him. But, this is the result of an experiment carried out by the Followers. They have given him a drug which is binding with his own body to make him the beast you see before you. Despite our best efforts we have no way of unbinding this drug which is multiplying in his system. He will die if we cannot do anything about it but rather than him die in vain we brought him here so that what may be his last breaths may be used to defend the woman he would never have wished to harm. Not least because she is of his people, one of the few left. He too is Eldorian.”
The cavern had fallen silent. Then two of the guards unlocked the pit gate and entered. They carried Kel out and Rennon followed. Maran followed on behind and Andalon was left to speak with is people.
They carried Kel higher into the hills and as it got steeper the path got narrower until it was merely a goat track. Still they ascended until they came to a small cave entrance. The mouth was covered by thick animal skins and as they stepped into the darkness inside and Maran hastened to light candles.
“Here, lay him here. I will see what my medicine can do. Now tell me, what did you find out about this drug?” She brought over stuffed animal skins and fleeces to make Kel as comfortable as his unconscious body could be. Dr Samson who had kept silent until this point stepped forwards. “It is chemical based and is multiplying in his system, growing and linking with his organs and glands to produce adrenaline.”
Maran furrowed her brow and reached for a leather bag. Dr Samson was about to stop her but he hesitated when she pulled out a bio scanner and ran it over Kel. She looked up at Samson and smiled. “What you thought I was going to pull out a magic stick and make it all better?” She ran the scanner over him and waited for the results. “Alstoic, they’ve used Alstoic, how cunning. I’ve never seen it used in this way. It’s from the Alstoic Bug which has a sting which makes the victim angry, afraid and more likely to leave the insect alone and go off and attack something far larger. It’s a cunning little bug too, hates sunlight and tends to move into other animals’ dens. Of course if it’s challenged it simply bites them. It is unlikely in their rage that they will see a small bug and they go and attack someone or something else. That then gives the bug something to feed upon. Very cunning. Now, what to do with it? You are going to need an antidote.
The bug’s eggs are carried in the sting venom. The venom also has a symbiotic component which is a parasitic alga which forms the bond between the venom and the body. We need to break that bond. Very well, so now we’ve got to find an antidote to egg cells floating around a system, latching on to anything that creates adrenaline. Ah, I’ve got it, a bit of healing could go a long way here. If you would be so kind as to lay him on his back I’ll use healing energy to bring his adrenaline levels down. Once they fall below a certain level the eggs will not be able to feed on the adrenaline so they will start to deteriorate and will certainly stop multiplying. I would make yourself comfortable; it’s going to be a long night.”
They all sat down and Maran arranged herself in a position where she was propped up and could keep her hands over Kel without having to strain muscles over the many hours she had to sit there pumping her healing energy into him and keeping him calm. From time to time Dr Samson administered sedatives and combining the two by dawn Kel’s heart and breathing rate were far lower and he was beginning to lose the tight veins that had been showing all over his body.
Dr Samson picked up the scanner and ran it over Kel’s prone body. All sign of the eggs had gone, his system was clean. They had broken down in the night and been flushed by the blood stream and into the kidneys. So, gradually he reduced the sedation so that Kel could have a chance to come around.
Kel opened his eyes and looked around blinking. “What hit me, I feel like I’ve been run over by a shuttle.”
Maran put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you worry, you’ve had a rough time of it over the past few days but hopefully the worst is over now. You are going to be weak for a while. You may want some help to get back down the mountain but in a day or so you should be fine. I’m sure that Dr Samson here will take good care of you, of course no excitement. You need to keep your adrenaline level under control. Now, if you don’t mind I’d better be getting back to see what is going on in the village. We will go down the mountain together but I suggest you leave this place and do not return until you have Kyla with you. The people of this village may have believed what I said but they have a strange sense of justice sometimes and may see you as their enemy until she personally tells them. I will try to contact a friend of hers who will be able to help. He may well visit you.”
Kel grunted. “Thank you for what you did though.” He looked up at her, his expression peaceful.
Maran smiled. “You are welcome. You still have the hardest task ahead of you.” She put a hand on his shoulder.
Kel looked confused. “What’s that?”
Maran gave a really enigmatic smile. “Telling Kyla.”
Kel swallowed hard. “I guess so. Do you think she will ever forgive me?” Maran looked at each of them. “Kyla will forgive you, it is in her nature. But will you forgive yourself? Now it is time for you to leave if you wish to get back to your craft before the hunters start out for the day.”
They followed Maran down the mountainside in silence at her slow pace. They parted with her at the village and went back to their Hopper and glided away into the infinite depths of space.
4
Kel and Rennon sat in the crew room and the door opened. Dr Samson stepped inside. He didn’t look at them and went straight to the coffee maker, poured himself a cup and sat down. “I’ve just come back from a meeting with the Commander. It would appear that I’m on your team now.�
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Rennon took a sip of his own hot coffee. “Welcome, it will be good to have you along with us doc. But, how do you feel about it?”
Samson took a mouthful of his coffee and pulled a bit of a face. “Nothing like the coffee back home is it? Me, well I feel that I would be better placed in the Infirmary doing the job I was trained for. I’m no combat medic. My aim is lousy and I am definitely not the outdoors type.”
Kel barely raised a smile. “You’ll do fine. How is Kyla? Fix her and you can go back to the Infirmary, I’ve heard she’s a medic.”
Samson looked down into his coffee. “I heard and I’m counting on it. Although I don’t know if she would choose to stay after what happened. We’ll have to see.” Rennon glared at him as Kel’s face dropped.
Samson smiled nervously. “Physically she is healing far faster than I would have expected and I’m really pleased with her progress. I adjusted my treatment when I found she was one of your people. It worked out, she responded far better.
I did a test by the way, matching your DNA; she is definitely of the same race as your good self. After treating your injuries for so long I know what you can take, she’s not doing too badly either, I’m impressed. She is strong willed and her body is strong but I am worried about her. Her body took a heck of a lot of punishment. She has also suffered from the cold. I’ve skin grafted where I can so there shouldn’t be any scars or perhaps a little minor scarring but nowhere that would generally show. It’s her emotional health I’m worried about. Even if she does survive there is no way of knowing what that sort of stress will do to her mental state. We do not know what she was like before the injuries so it will be difficult to judge her emotional state when she is finally reawakened.
It has been nearly a month now. Her limbs are on auto movers to stop atropine in the muscles and electrical pulses are maintaining her physically so there is little to worry about there. What does worry me is that her neural activity is unnaturally high for someone in a coma, in fact for someone who is not. There is a lot going on in there and I’ve no way of knowing what that is.”
